Monday, November 26, 2007

Kevin DrewSpirit If...Canadian Indie darling Kevin Drew, bandleader of BrokenSocial Scene, offered the first taste of his solo fruits in ‘SpiritIf…’ in late September of 2007. For all of the chaos,controversy and cacophony that ebbs and flows from thevery core of this ‘super-group’, and that which music criticslove to either salivate or whine over, I believe that despitea few over-the-toppities, KD has something slickly originalto lend to the ears of his listeners here. The daunting, organicopening track, Farewell to the Pressure Kids, starts as asomber mellotron appetizer that breaks its belt into awhimsical catastrophe of carousel-esque sounds, guitars,reverb and percussion. It’s almost if KD, himself, is sayingfarewell to the pressure of big band life, record executivesand the corporate music scene while delving into somethingsimpler:

‘Well the pressure kids…they own ashphalt, they won’t roll the die..’.

Despite driveling on himself from time to time, with hisconstant stream of consciousness lyrical flow, Drew focuseswell on the two things he loves to write about most: sex andsociety. ‘Lucky Ones’ is probably one of the most wellconstructed songs that I have heard in years. The simpleopening of a distant, ringing guitar blends perfectly with aJustin Peroff straight-gunning drum track. In true KevinDrew bleeding heart-artist style, lyrical sonnetry, he spillshis guts about the tension of loving someone he is close to:‘All of your words came down like your spies/Trickledthrough the morphine and tried to make a crime/I don’texpect to suggest that we’re through/You know I can livewithout you if you do…’

Aside from a few shiners, though, this album is not astandout achievement by any stretch. Kevin Drew’sconstant clinging to a teenage era is accented by his constantmusical hero-worship of J Mascis who personally lendshis signature guitar tone to the album single ‘Backed OutOn The…’ The song itself actually lacks originality and almostsounds like something Mascis himself would have releasedin 1991 as a Dinosaur Jr. b-side. Overall, though, ‘Spirit If…’still begs you to spin it more and more as you let it playlonger in your system. In the end, the good still outweighsthe mediocre and this album sounds different sonicallythan most contemporary musical acts of today.